Chapter 119 I Am Pursuing Bella Again
Paxton glanced at the bill and couldn't help raising his voice, "Isabella, this is extortion!"
"Extortion?" I crossed my arms and looked at Paxton, my smile carrying a hint of amusement. "Mr. Rivera, do you have proof? Are you going to call the police on me?"
"You're joking. How would I dare arrest you?" Paxton shook his head and sighed. "It's all because City Hall is too broke. We'll have to owe you this service fee for now, but the Chaotic Zone governance issue can't wait."
"Well then," I casually leafed through the bill, "I put in so much effort to clear out those gangs, and now I'm getting nothing out of it. If Gale finds out I'm doing business at a loss like this, he'll definitely be mad at me."
"Since City Hall is planning to take over, I'm out." I let out a long sigh and turned to leave.
Paxton froze for two seconds. "Wait!"
I turned around. "Is there something else?"
"You're just leaving?" Paxton couldn't believe it. "You put in all that effort to get this territory, and you're just giving it up like that?"
"But from here on out, whether it's maintaining order, distributing supplies, or doing a census—that's all City Hall's work. What does it have to do with me?" I said.
"You!" Paxton frowned.
I waved my hand. "I'm busy. Gotta go."
"Wait!" Paxton called out to me again. I didn't stop or turn around. He ran to catch up with me. "Wait, what do you want? We can negotiate—except for money, City Hall really doesn't have that much!"
Seeing his frustrated look made me feel especially good. I spoke slowly, "So what do you have? You need to offer something worthwhile to make it worth my while."
I patted his shoulder. "No rush, take your time thinking about it—oh, by the way, the other deputy mayor, Constantine, contacted me too. Either way, it's all for Starstream City's development, so working with him would be the same."
Paxton's face turned dark. "What did he offer you?"
I shook my head. How could I tell him that?
I calmly headed toward the north exit gate. From the start, I never planned to take full responsibility for governing the Chaotic Zone—that's all government work.
Why would I, a gang member, do such troublesome and thankless work?
The north exit always reeked of cheap tobacco and the sour smell of gasoline. Today, there seemed to be something else mixed in.
I could see from a distance a group of people blocking the iron gate.
"Who are they? What's going on?" I asked.
"It's Mr. Valeri!" Adrian, who was driving, answered.
"I can see Lucas." I thought Adrian had stated the obvious. Lucas wore a pure black trench coat with the collar turned up. Behind him, six cars were lined up in a row, and his subordinates were all tall and strong, wearing matching training outfits, arranged in a fan formation guarding Lucas.
He was so conspicuous that anyone's eyes would fall on Lucas at first glance.
A cigarette was pinched between his fingers, half-burned, ash falling steadily.
As the car approached, the crowd parted to both sides. Alfred said excitedly in a hushed voice, "Mr. Valeri, Mrs. Valeri is here!"
Alfred had a loud voice—even when he tried to keep it down, it was still quite loud.
He never changed how he addressed me. I'd corrected him several times and was too lazy to waste more effort.
Lucas turned to look at me in the car, put out his cigarette, took a deodorizer spray from Alfred and sprayed it twice, then walked over. "Heading back?"
I nodded and gestured forward with my chin. "What's going on here?"
There were less than twenty people on the other side. Leading them were a young man and woman, both very young, with the rest being their bodyguards.
This setup clearly screamed gang, but no one in Starstream City would dare confront Lucas, so obviously they were from somewhere else.
The young man across from us waved at me. He wore a deep purple baseball jacket, wide-leg pants, and sneakers, dressed quite fashionably. His features looked somewhat familiar. He greeted me warmly, "Hello! Hello there, you're Isabella?"
"You are?"
"I'm Leonardo Valeri, Lucas's brother."
Lucas had many half-brothers from different mothers. I couldn't remember which one he was at the moment.
"I've been wanting to meet you for so long. It was such a shame I couldn't meet you during New Year's."
He wanted to come closer but was blocked by Alfred.
Seeing them blocking the way, I figured we wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, so I got out of the car.
Lucas helped me with the car door. We were very close—I only had to lift my eyes slightly to see a bruise on his nose bridge.
Marcus had quite some strength. Good thing he didn't break Lucas's nose.
The irregularly shaped bruise didn't make Lucas ugly. Instead, it added a wild, rough beauty to his handsome face.
"Don't bother with him," Lucas said. "I'll clear the way for you. Just leave if you want to."
"What's he here for?" I asked.
Lucas's expression was displeased. Leonardo jumped in, "Grandpa selected a new arranged marriage partner for Lucas. I'm here to escort her. She's here—I've delivered her!"
Leonardo made an inviting gesture to his side, and the woman next to him stepped forward.
She had her hair in a high ponytail and wore a long white trench coat that made her waist look slim and her legs long, with an upright posture.
Her features were delicate, with a temperament like a beauty from a classical oil painting, but her eyes were cold. She introduced herself expressionlessly, "I'm Angelina Marr."
The Marr family's status in Dawnharbor was second only to the Thornfield family.
My pupils contracted slightly. I instinctively put on a distant but polite smile. "Hello, I'm Isabella."
Angelina nodded. "I know who you are."
Lucas stepped in front of me, blocking my eye contact with Angelina. He gripped my hand and said in a low voice, "I won't marry her."
I really wanted to shake off his hand and say I didn't care, but I felt so irritated I couldn't say a word.
Amelia's situation wasn't even resolved yet, and now an Angelina had popped up!
"Angelina is a ballet dancer, very famous," Leonardo said with a smile. "Lucas, you're a poor judge of women. That Amelia from before embarrassed the family, making us lose face on TV. Grandpa was very unhappy, so he personally selected a new marriage partner for you. Angelina is great—she's way out of your league."
He didn't mention me once, but his meaning was clear—as if I wasn't even as good as Amelia.
They didn't come in peace, I thought.
"I've already cut ties with the Valeri family. Grandpa is getting old and increasingly meddlesome," Lucas sneered, his gaze cold as he stared at Leonardo, making him step back.
"I have a wife. Grandpa is old and his mind isn't clear anymore. Are you the same as him?" Lucas gripped my hand tightly.
"Didn't you two get divorced?" Leonardo stared at us, as if trying to find some discordant flaw.
"An ex-wife is still a type of wife," Lucas declared. "I'm pursuing Bella again."
"Mr. Valeri, the essence of an arranged marriage is binding the interests of two families. It won't harm you, me, the Valeri family, the Marr family, or even Isabella," Angelina took another step forward.
Her voice was so steady it had no ripples, and her eyes showed no trace of affection or shyness when looking at Lucas.
"Whatever entanglements you have are none of my business. After marriage, I won't interfere with you seeing anyone."
Lucas was very irritated. "Can't you understand what I'm saying? I said I won't marry you. Get lost!"